Thumbs Down On Endorsement (I)
Re your endorsement of Bill de Blasio for mayor of New York (editorial, Nov. 1):
Since when does The Jewish Press stand with supporters of the Sandinistas and Cuban Communists? How is it good policy to tax the rich and redistribute the wealth for our community, or any community? The wealthy who support yeshivas and social services will flee the city and support those in their new community.
You write that the public in the past had been well served by Republican candidate Joe Lhota’s fiscal responsibility and know-how but that he didn’t really connect with the voters as de Blasio has. You say de Blasio has a quick mind and profound sensitivity. But in electing a mayor we choose a man who can run the city, not one who gives everyone and every group what they want.
“Connecting” with the voters does not necessarily make for a good leader, as we can see with our president.
The end of Stop and Frisk (Lhota is not for ending it) is just the tip of the social-justice iceberg the city faces. Get ready to dust off your car’s “No Radio” signs.
Sara Springer and Michael Ackerman
(Via E-Mail)
Thumbs Down On Endorsement (II)
I was surprised by your endorsement of Bill de Blasio – surprised and disappointed. You seem to have implicitly conceded that heretofore he fell far short of what you would want to see in a mayor, but rationalized that he is too bright and too perceptive to mean what he had long been saying.
The man really has a disturbing approach to what government is all about, yet you essentially pooh-poohed his many statements and actions over the years.
From what he has said, he believes government involvement in the lives of ordinary citizens is the rule rather than the exception. He thinks individuals are primarily the victims of their circumstances and therefore deserve every break from the law. He believes in an America not as a land of opportunity but as a land of entitlement. He thinks that because wealthy people have more money than the less fortunate, the former have a duty to subsidize the latter.
But this is not what made America great. And your prior editorials tell me you understand this as well.
No, I don’t subscribe to the argument that the city will fall apart under Bill de Blasio. I do feel, though, that it’s just wrong to ignore what people themselves say and base everything on the hope that they didn’t really mean what they said.
Allan Friedberg
(Via E-Mail)
Releasing Terrorists
My last stop before arriving at Ben Gurion Airport last Monday night was to join the massive rally at Ofer prison protesting the release of 26 more Arab terrorists. Speaker after speaker spoke of the brutal murder or maiming of a loved one.
Another 52 are to be released in the near future. All this is simply to get the Arabs to the table to negotiate.
And what gestures are the Arabs making? Continued terrorism. Continued calls for the destruction of Israel. Continued preaching of hatred, particularly to children. Continued glorification of martyrdom. The reality of the situation is revealed by the emblems of every Arab organization: a map showing all of Israel as the future state of Palestine.
The only result of this insane action on Israel’s part will be more terror against Jews. Why wouldn’t a jihadist be encouraged to commit more terrorist acts? What would he be risking if he knows that even if he is captured he will eventually be released from prison as a “gesture for peace”?
Charlie Bernhaut
New York, NY
Trusting Iran
George W. Bush was right on the mark when he said Iran cannot be trusted when it claims its nuclear program is not weapons oriented (“Bush, Praising Israel, Tells Presidents Conference Iraq Can’t Be Trusted,” news story, Oct. 25). Nothing in the West’s dealings with Iran would suggest otherwise.
I would go even further and say the current infatuation with the new Iranian president and the renewed faith in negotiations are both dangerously foolish. It should be clear to any rational person that Iran is just stalling for time while it continues to pursue a nuclear weapons capacity. This is a prescription for possible nuclear confrontation.